The battle of Kalvskinnet took place in Trondheim in 1179: King Sverre Sigurdsson and his Birkebeiner warriors were victorious against Erling Skakke ( a rival to the throne ).

There were two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

Under Sverre's leadership, the Birkebeiner movement was re-organized and pruned and the most criminal elements were brutally purged from the party.

Although peasant gatherings were no match for the battle hardened Birkebeiners, Magnus or Erling Skakke frequently had the Birkebeiner on the run.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into the parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

Sverre and Håkon were leaders of the Birkebeiner party.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

Among them were the Birkebeiner chieftains Eystein Meyla and Sverre Sigurdsson who were kinsmen of Brigida Haraldsdotter.

The Birkebeiner were formed in 1174 around Eystein Meyla.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner.

The Bagler rapidly gained control of the Oslofjord-area ( Viken ), while the Birkebeiner held control of the Trøndelag-region around Nidaros ( Trondheim ).

Øystein Møyla, a son of King Eystein II of Norway, would be his successor as candidate for king by the Birkebeiner party.

In 1206 a group of Birkebeiner party soldiers, who fought for Sverre Sigurdsson and his descendants in the Norwegian civil war, smuggled the illegitimate son of Norway's King Håkon Sverresson from Lillehammer to safety in Trondheim.

In addition to the Birkebeiner itself, the race day includes the shorter Kortelopet, a race geared more toward recreational skiers, and the Prince Haakanon 12 km event for those who are not ready to take on the challenge of the longer courses.

There are three men who have completed every Birkie since the first one in 1973 ; they are John Kotar, a retired senior professor at UW-Madison, Dave Landgraf, a teacher and Nordic ski coach for middle and high school teams, and Ernie St. Germaine, a former employee of the Telemark Resort, where the Birkebeiner starts every year.

But after his death a woman, Inga of Varteig, whom Håkon had taken as a concubine for a time in 1203, appeared at the Birkebeiner court with an infant son who she claimed was Håkon's son.

Gjesling allied himself with the Birkebeiner — who chose Sverre as their king at Øreting in Nidaros in 1177.

The most seriously discredited alleged son, practically regarded as an impostor by many modern academics, was Sverre I, who arrived in Norway from his native Faroe Islands, took up leadership in the embattled and heirless Birkebeiner party of the civil war, and claimed to be the natural son of Sigurd II by Gunhild, Sverre's attested mother.

In 1209, a resolution was made between Bagler and Birkebeiner.

His bastard son Eystein Meyla was proclaimed king by the Birkebeiner party in 1176, but was defeated and killed the year after.

When the news of Sverre's death reached Håkon and the Birkebeiner assembled in Nidaros, Håkon was first taken as chieftain by the Birkebeiner.

The day after Guttorm became king, Haakon the Crazy ( Old Norse: Hákon galinn, Modern Norwegian: Håkon galen ), a nephew of King Sverre, was made earl and leader of the Birkebeiner army.

Haakon thus became the real leader of the Birkebeiner, as Guttorm was only 4 years old.

Guttorm and the Birkebeiner army sailed to Nidaros where Guttorm was proclaimed king at the thing.

The Birkebeiner knew of no other direct descendant of King Sverre, as Håkon Håkonsson was still unknown to them.

In 1209, a pact was made between Bagler and Birkebeiner, which recognized Bagler pretender Philip Simonsson as ruler of Oppland and Viken in Eastern Norway, without the title of king, and recognized Birkebeiner's Inge Bårdsson as King Inge II of Norway.

The war between the Bagler, with the open support of the Church, and the Birkebeiner, was to last for the rest of the reign of King Sverre.

Philip's mother Margrét was the half-sister of King Inge I of Norway and full sister of Nikolás Arnason, bishop of Oslo and another prominent opponent of King Sverre and the Birkebeiner.

Philip's Birkebeiner rival King Inge II ( successor of Guttorm, chosen in 1204 ) had severe difficulties because he was only a maternal grandson of King Sigurd II.

The next year, the new Birkebeiner candidate was also recognized by the Bagler as King Haakon IV of Norway, bringing the division of the kingdom to an end.

The naming of the arena was decided by the Lillehammer Municipal Council in October 1988, as part of a broader branding policy, based on the history of the Birkebeiner.

The race was based on the original Norwegian Birkebeiner.

Håkon the Crazy ( Hákon galinn ) was a Norwegian earl and Birkebeiner chieftain during the civil war era in Norway.

When Sverre Sigurdsson became the leader of the Birkebeiner, Erling's position was compromised, and he fell at the Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros in 1179.